If you were trying to close the North-South divide, what issue would you prioritise?

For me, it has to be young people and their life chances. It is sadly still the case that most top jobs are down South. For many teenagers in the North, it is hard to have big ambitions.

They are not surrounded by legal, financial or media firms. They don’t know people who work in these closed worlds. So they struggle to see how they might break into them. To dare to say they want to try takes confidence and might well be greeted by a few laughs.

I described this problem at the launch of my campaign to be Mayor of Greater Manchester because I am passionate about solving it.

No sooner had I sat down than highly-paid commentators were queueing up to say I was wrong. All they did was reinforce my feeling that I’m right to stand.

The London perspective dominates the airwaves. Issues that matter to young people in Leigh, Bury and Stockport never seem to get debated in the same way. The prime example of this is the snobbery over technical education.

In Germany, academic and technical education are equals. Here, one is distinctly second class. This thinking has betrayed millions.

Too many in Greater Manchester reach 14 or 15 and struggle to see what lies ahead. A more equal society gives everyone hope of a decent opportunity at the end of school. This will be my priority as Mayor.

I will ask the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution to lead a revolution in technical education. My goal will be to provide a quality apprenticeship for every young person who wants one and gets the grades.

I also want school-leavers to think of starting a business as completely normal. So I will put support in place to help them do it. There will be a clear, supported path for all young people in Greater Manchester at 18: university, apprenticeship or entrepreneur.

My vision for Greater Manchester is to make it a beacon of hope and social justice. I will also set the goal of an affordable home for all and an end to homelessness.

Westminster has failed the North. It has left us with an unequal country and an unfair distribution of money, power and life chances.

It is why I am ready to leave it and devote myself to the job of rebalancing our country from South to North.